Does Hamilton have something to teach us about how we make better use of our Beachway? Will it take artists to show us the way?

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  October 19, 2012  I spend far too much of my time at city hall.  If you spend enough time in a building you get to know the security guard – which in Burlington’s case is Bob Kerr, a grizzly old coot who knows where everything and everybody is in that building at night.

He and I chew the fat. He comments on the Our Burlington web site – caustically at times I might add.  Kerr used to work for Midnight Security, the company that had the contract to provide security services at city hall.  The contract came up for renewal, purchasing put out a call for tenders and they took the lowest price.  For reasons that are not clear Midnight didn’t submit a bid – so Star Security got the job – on a one year contract.

Kerr had a new employer and a new pay grade and it wasn’t what he was getting before.  It gets worse – he has to chase the company for his paycheck.

The city did save some money on the security contract and Kerr took a hit right in the pocket book.  His colleague at the time took a $7000 annual haircut as well.  Both Kerr and the other security guard who has since left the company with the contract to provide security services, ended up with less – much less.   This happened because Council, wisely, changed the purchasing procedure that allowed the purchasing department to spend up to $100,000 without having to go to Council.

We were seeing one of those “unintended consequences” that happens when we look for ways to reduce our costs.

Purchasing saw a way to save some money and they gave the security contract to a new company.  One that both Kerr and his colleague found they had to chase more than once to get their paycheques.  It was a one year contract – the city might want to give the previous security firm a call.

The current firm adds no value to what the city is getting.  The two guards who were doing the job were still going to be in place – they would just get less money.  One of the guards couldn’t handle the cut and found work with the parking people.  He was one of the most polite security people I ever met.  We lost a very good security guard.  We’ve still got Bob Kerr – who now works for less.  That’s what they mean by an unintended consequence.

City staff wouldn’t be asked to take a pay cut the size of the one Kerr and his colleague had to swallow.  Time to make amends.

What has all this got to do with the Beachway and the art community?

Women are great fans of the whimsical, flighty work that Cora does. It has a light fun feel to it. It is very serious art.

Turns out that Kerr has relatives who are artists and they are holding a viewing at their house which is right on the lake – but on the Hamilton side of the canal.  Bob asked if we could do a little write up on the event.    Our name, Our Burlington, tells what we are about – and I explained to Kerr that it isn’t a Burlington event.  “Is there a Burlington angle to this” I asked Kerr.  “Eric got a parking ticket in Burlington once” Kerr responded.  That was enough for us – we decided to do a little write up and use the occasion to tell how Kerr got stiffed when the city moved to a new security firm.

I checked to see where the studio was located in Hamilton – it’s on Sierra Lane which is a hop, skip and a jump from where our columnist Margaret Lindsay Holton lives.  Two artists in the same part of town?  Looks like the start of a cluster to me.

Burlington is struggling with what it wants to do with its Beachway community; that close to desolate bit of land where the Pump House sits empty waiting for a new tenant.  The railway embankment is a serene walk almost any time of day for thousands of people each week.  Is this the place to develop an arts community?  Could Burlington create the conditions that would see this kind of community grow?  When the Freeman Station is eventually renovated, there isn’t a person of sound mind in the city that doesn’t want to see it somewhere in the Beachway alongside the old railway tracks.

Eric Brittan’s style is a little more formal, less whimsical. There is a spartan feel to some of his work, you might call it minimalist. The beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

They’ve done it on the Hamilton side – all kinds of life over there.  Might be a lesson for us.

The art show that Bob Kerr got me to promote is on October 27th and 28th, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Wine and cheese is being served.  The stdio is located at 5 Sierra Lane north off Beach Blvd.  If you get lost: 905-545-7034 will get you some help.

Eric and Cora Brittan have been holding these open house art sales for 14 years – this is the 15th event for them.   Both Cora and Eric run in house small group classes and occasional special workshops in calligraphy, drawing and painting. They also regularly take part in workshops offered at the Burlington Art Centre and the summer program at the Southampton School of Art in Southampton, ON.